Return to Transcripts main page
Crime and Justice With Ashleigh Banfield
Video of Traffic Stop Sheds New Light on Woman`s Death; Drug Dealer Charged With Murder in Fentanyl Death; Man Attempts Sexual Assault; Sick from Gas Station Nacho Cheese. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired May 24, 2017 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[20:00:00] ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, HLN HOST (voice-over): Young, beautiful and mysteriously vanished.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What a beautiful child she is or was.
BANFIELD: Two months later, she`s found at the bottom of a river.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Heading the wrong way on this street.
BANFIELD: But here she is just hours before.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You`re on the full left side of the street heading into oncoming traffic.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huh? Not funny.
BANFIELD: That slurring sounds like an obvious DUI.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pull in that parking lot, sit there for a while and gather yourself.
BANFIELD: But the officer lets her go right to her watery grave. Could he have prevented her death?
A sheriff`s warning to drug dealers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get the hell out of Clay County!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She`s not breathing.
BANFIELD: After busting a dealer they say peddled killer heroin to a teenager.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m changing his street name from Lucky to Unlucky.
BANFIELD: But he`s not the only one they`re after.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know I shouldn`t take situations like this personally, but I do.
BANFIELD: They`re charging her friends, too, who were with her at the time.
Is this a rapist caught in the act? Police say this predator stalked, then attacked a woman outside a restroom. The brave survivor fought him off,
but he`s on the loose and police want to find him before he strikes again.
Admit it, you`ve had that late-night craving, gas station nachos.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s really scary.
BANFIELD: Now a 37-year-old dad is dead after the nachos he ate were tainted.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`m just afraid.
BANFIELD: Nine others are fighting to survive from the same batch of cheese at the same gas station.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If my mom had eaten there, I don`t know if we would have lost both of them.
BANFIELD: Fighting in school -- it happens ever day.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I guess we just started throwing punches.
BANFIELD: But this is not your average fight. Look closely. That`s a pair of scissors in one girl`s hand.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She kept stabbing me, I guess.
BANFIELD: Is this a school dispute or an attempted murder?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nobody came to save my daughter where she should be safe? Nobody was there.
BANFIELD: And attention, drivers. Check your blind spot before changing lanes. This biker is sent flying when a car cuts him off.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you drunk?
BANFIELD: See how the biker unleashes on the driver when he finally gets his chance.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BANFIELD: Hello, everyone. I`m Ashleigh Banfield. This is PRIMETIME JUSTICE.
A beautiful 20-year-old woman disappears without a trace. That may be a headline you think you`ve heard before. But the story of Toni Anderson has
one hell of a twist, especially since police were involved before she vanished.
Toni left work one night just outside of Kansas City, but she never got to where she was going. And for two whole months, she was virtually a ghost,
not one sign of her until one day they found her car. It was deep in the middle of the Missouri River, and inside that car was Toni Anderson. She`d
been dead for quite some time.
Police ruled this death an accident, but was it an accident that could have easily been prevented by them? There is some brand-new and intriguing
evidence tonight that reveals what happened to Toni Anderson in the final moments of her life. And while they are intriguing, they are also
extremely troubling.
Even before they found her, investigators revealed that Toni had been stopped by the police. They say she had made an improper lane change, and
they let her off with a warning. And that`s what everybody thought, including her family.
But that was not entirely the whole story, no, no, because the whole story could actually be found on the officer`s dashcam video, which for some
bizarre reason is only now being seen, four months after Toni ended up in the river.
It is true an officer did pull Toni over about 4:30 in the morning that same morning she disappeared, and it is true she was driving on the wrong
side of the road. But I want you to listen real close and see if you can hear anything else afoot as the officer approaches the car and tries to get
some answers from the woman behind the wheel. See if you can hear if there is anything wrong with Toni.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You`re heading the wrong way.
TONY ANDERSON, DRIVER: Well, yes, I know (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, no, you`re -- this is not -- this is a two-way street. You`re on the full left side of the street heading into oncoming
traffic.
ANDERSON: (INAUDIBLE)
[20:05:00]UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huh? Not funny.
ANDERSON: I`m sorry.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That`s why I`m asking you, have you been drinking? Have you taken any medications or anything?
ANDERSON: No, I`m just really sick. I don`t feel good.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Stay here for me, OK?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Did you catch that? Now, I`m not a trained officer, but it sounded a lot to me like that lady was pretty wasted. At the very least,
she sounded confused. She was slurring, giggling and could barely explain where she was headed or why she was pulled over.
So you would think that the next logical step would be a field sobriety test, maybe a breathalyzer? No. Here, instead, is what happened next.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Toni...
ANDERSON: Yes?
BANFIELD: Do me a favor. Pull in that parking lot, sit there for a while and gather yourself.
ANDERSON: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So when it clears, I`m going to make sure the light turns, go over there and park and sit.
ANDERSON: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK?
ANDERSON: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because you`re nowhere near and you`re facing the wrong direction.
ANDERSON: I know. You just made me really nervous. I`m sorry.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pull over there and gather yourself, OK?
ANDERSON: Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: OK. If your jaw is on the floor, pick it up. It`s true that officer did let Toni go. When was the last time you heard a police officer
tell somebody that they pulled over who they suspected might have been under the influence, at least they sure asked the question, Have you been
drinking, to just go and collect yourself?
In addition to that questionable act, there`s also this. The medical examiner released its tox report. That`s the toxicology when you die. And
Toni Anderson had in her system in addition to alcohol, cocaine and amphetamines, which are believed to have contributed to her death.
Ian Cummings is a reporter for "The Kansas City Star." He joins me from Kansas City. Ian, why did they let her go? Are they answering that
question? Why did they let Toni Anderson pull away and ultimately drive to her grave?
IAN CUMMINGS, "KANSAS CITY STAR": I spoke with an official of the North Kansas City Police Department earlier today, and they told me that they
think that based on the circumstances, the information the officer had, that he behaved reasonably.
BANFIELD: That`s it? Reasonably? No other explanation? They didn`t say, you know, We couldn`t smell any alcohol? We didn`t think she was slurring.
Was there any other explanation? Because I just saw what happened, and it looked awful.
CUMMINGS: We`ve not gotten any other explanation. There`s not a written report from that traffic stop, so for the time being, that`s all we`ve been
told.
BANFIELD: OK, so I want to play a little bit more in case no one`s convinced, that I think personally this girl was loaded. There`s a little
back and forth between them about where she`s headed. Don`t forget, 4:30 in the morning. She`s coming from work where she`s apparently a server at
a strip club. and she`s headed to meet some friends, 4:30 in the morning, a place called Shady Lady. Yes, Shady Lady. So here is that back and
forth between the officer and Toni Anderson.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Been drinking?
ANDERSON: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You`re heading the wrong way on the street.
ANDERSON: I know. I`m about to head that way.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Which way? This way?
ANDERSON: Well, yes, no, I was about to head towards Shady but...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shady?
ANDERSON: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What`s Shady?
ANDERSON: Shady Lady?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shady Lady?
ANDERSON: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Know where you`re at now?
ANDERSON: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where?
ANDERSON: (INAUDIBLE) I was about to head towards Shady, but...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Driver`s license and insurance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: All right. I think, Ian, the next question would be why did it take four months for her family to see what I just saw? And why would they
not have shared the fact that at this traffic stop, it appeared she was under the influence and was let go?
CUMMINGS: Well, we, of course, were asking a lot of questions about the investigation during that time. What we`ve been told by police
investigators was that while the death investigation was going on, they tried not to release very many details about various aspects of her
disappearance and her death, partly because they were trying to control the information while they still didn`t know if there could be a homicide
involved or some other kind of foul play. So that was the explanation we were given for why much of this information was not released before.
BANFIELD: OK, I think that`s fair. But here`s where it doesn`t sound so fair anymore. Mom and her family are desperate to know what happened to
their beloved Toni Anderson, who had vanished for two months. And they`re never told, Boy, she was really drunk at a stop. They`re never told that.
And then they find this car in the condition you`re looking at it in. And they find her body in that car. And mom is still not told, By the way, two
months ago, we actually stopped that car and it wasn`t just a lane change, it was possibly an intoxicated driver. But we didn`t stop her.
[20:10:00]And so now, almost four months after the fact, Ian, they finally let her see it. So I can only imagine they may be in some trouble. Are
they?
CUMMINGS: Well, we are trying to understand that, as well. The family may have the very questions that you`re asking, why that information wasn`t
given to them, if it wasn`t. Why the officer let Toni go. We`ve spoken with some law enforcement officials with expertise in DUI traffic stops,
and they`ve told us that they also questioned the decision to let Toni go without a sobriety test of some kind. So yes, those are all questions that
people would be asking right now.
BANFIELD: They never let out the name of that police officer in that video, did they. They`ve never released who it was in that video.
CUMMINGS: That`s correct. We`ve not been given the name of that officer, either.
BANFIELD: Why? Why won`t they tell us?
CUMMINGS: Well, that`s a fair question for the North Kansas City Police Department, I think. I`ve not been given a reason for that, but of course,
it`s of some interest.
BANFIELD: Do we know what happened after this stop, after they said, You know, Toni, just pull over and gather yourself? Ultimately, Toni may have
done that for a minute or two, but somehow, she ended up in that river. Do we have any idea how that happened? How far away was the river from this
moment where she was stopped and could have been saved?
CUMMINGS: The place where she was stopped is about seven miles from the location where she went into a river, which is -- had a boat ramp and a
park in Parkville (ph), Missouri, nearby. So her cell phone was last detected there at 6:00 AM or thereabouts, so about an hour-and-a-half after
the traffic stop. It`s not known exactly how it happened, but it`s believed that she somehow accidentally drove down the boat ramp and into
the river.
BANFIELD: That text you were talking about -- you know, that cell phone activity you were just talking about, the text that she sent about -- it`s
about 10 minutes or so after she was pulled over. "Oh, my God, just pulled over again." She sent that text to Roxy Townsend. Roxy is Toni Anderson`s
friend. So Ian, I`m going to excuse myself from you for a moment.
I want to bring in Roxy. Roxy, that text -- did that play in heavily into the two months where nobody knew where your friend Toni was?
ROXY TOWNSEND, FRIEND: I think that text was one of the most critical parts of the investigation early on just because it was pretty much the
only thing we knew. It set the tone for this whole period of time because people became suspicious of the -- of what happened at the traffic stop
because that`s the last thing that we knew to have happened to her.
BANFIELD: Yes, but Roxy, now that you see that video -- because as I understand it, you`re just seeing it, too. It`s not like you`ve had the
benefit of what your friend`s condition was when they let her go. What does it make you think about all of this these last four months?
TOWNSEND: I mean, frustrating, certainly. This isn`t something that I ever could have predicted would have happened. This isn`t something that I
would have thought Toni would ever do, and it wouldn`t be the way I would assume police would handle the situation, either.
BANFIELD: I want to bring in Joey Jackson real quick on this. Listen, I don`t like the sound of it. I don`t know how the police ply their trade.
Maybe there`s a perfectly good explanation. But four months without ever letting the family know that that happened, that she was smokin` drunk and
they let her go?
JOEY JACKSON, CNN/HLN LEGAL ANALYST: You know, you`re right to be outraged. Two things when I think about this. In terms of letting the
family know, I think the police always should have the obligation to speak to the family. It`s the right thing to do, Ashleigh. It`s the humane
thing to do. It gives the family peace of mind. You`re looking for your beautiful daughter, who God bless her, is no longer here.
Now, with regard to the actual stop, that`s a close question because police have a lot of discretion. The police officer questioned her. She was
responsive to those questions. Where are you heading? I`m going to Shady.
BANFIELD: Not very!
JACKSON: You can make the argument because I know in court, us defense attorneys often (INAUDIBLE)
BANFIELD: He asked her if she was drinking. Isn`t that the suspicion (ph) now?
JACKSON: Yes, but she said, I`m sick. My issue is that I`m sick. He also asked her to produce the license and registration. She produced the
license. She didn`t produce a baseball card. She didn`t fall over herself. She didn`t stumble out of the car. And so he was giving her what
so many people ask for, Ashleigh, and that is a break. And so the fact now that she goes and she`s dead is most unfortunate, but I can`t put that on
the officer.
BANFIELD: Really? You don`t see...
JACKSON: I cannot.
BANFIELD: ... wrongful death here?
JACKSON: No because the reality is, is that officers every day exercise their discretion. And in this case you wish he would have stopped her and
jailed her. She`d be alive.
BANFIELD: Very sad.
JACKSON: But he let her go, and there she is (INAUDIBLE)
BANFIELD: Very sad Toni`s death, you know, but it could be even more sad. Could have been somebody else who she slammed into.
JACKSON: Absolutely right.
BANFIELD: And Toni could be dead and somebody with a baby in the back seat could also be dead.
[20:15:02]JACKSON: Your outrage is well-founded, Ash. I`m with you completely. But the reality is, officers have discretion. They use it.
In this instance, it was deadly.
BANFIELD: OK. Joey Jackson, thank you for that. Roxy Townsend and Ian Cummings, thank you, as well.
Fair warning to drug dealers in Jacksonville, Florida. If you plan to sell your smack in Clay County, you better be prepared to have the book thrown
at you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHERIFF DARRYL DANIELS, CLAY COUNTY, FL: For the first time in the fourth judicial circuit, an individual who was distributing narcotics is being
charged with homicide or murder. Detectives arrested Trumaine "Lucky" Muller. I think little Lucky ain`t so lucky no more.
(END VIDEO CLIP
BANFIELD: You got that right. And guess what? Lucky`s not the only person charged in the OD death of 18-year-old Ariell Brundige. Sheriff
Darryl Daniels has had enough. Wait until you see how far he is going to smack that scourge of smack. He joins me live next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:20:12]BANFIELD: You just cannot escape this talk. Opioid addiction is at an epidemic in the U.S. And when those painkiller prescriptions run
out, a lot of people are turning to heroin or even fentanyl, a synthetics copy of heroin. They want to ease their pain, or in many, many cases, they
just want to get super-high. And they`re dying because of it. They`re dying at an alarming rate across this country.
And so in some places, fighting the war against this scourge has meant going after the dealers, and instead of just tagging them with drug
charges, the prosecutor are going after them for murder. And some of them are starting to win.
Today, in Minneapolis, a judge found Beverly Burrell guilty, guilty of murder in the first of four cases where this drug dealer has been charged.
They say that woman, Burrell, was Lucas Ronnie`s (ph) primary dealer and gave him the heroin that killed him.
And in Clay County, Florida, investigators are following their leads, but they`re going further because 18-year-old Ariell Brundige would be alive
today had she not OD`d on some scumbag dealer`s toxic stash.
According to the police, she and two of here friends bought what they thought was heroin, but it was the way more potent and deadly fentanyl.
Naturally, Brundige OD`d. And what the sheriff`s office decided to do was a first for that county. They not only charged the alleged dealer with the
murder, they went after her friends, too, who they said were with her when she bought the dope and with her when she died from it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANIELS: It`s major arrest here in Clay County. For the first time in the fourth judicial circuit, an individual who was distributing narcotics is
being charged with homicide or murder. Detectives arrested Trumaine "Lucky" Miller. I think little Lucky ain`t so lucky no more. So he
peddled his wares in Clay Country, and unfortunately, an 18-year-old, Ariell Brundige, died because she ingested what he was peddling. And also
some of his cohorts, Tyler Hamilton and Christopher Williams, are going to be charged with manslaughter for their participation in what occurred.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: You heard that right. In addition to charges against the alleged dealer, Lucky Muller, Ariell`s friends are being charged with
manslaughter. Sheriff Darryl Daniels hopes the charges send a strong message to the dealers and their suppliers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANIELS: For a person who would sell heroin or bring fentanyl or think that it`s OK to bring these products into Clay County, I have more disdain
for you than I have the regular criminal. And so your options are limited. I`d say, today, we talked about dragging people from the gates of hell in
the past, and so we don`t have to do that, get the hell out of Clay County, or we`ll come get you wherever you are.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Now, that`s a sheriff. And there`s a sheriff, Darryl Daniels, joining me live now from Jacksonville. Sheriff, thank you so much for
being with me.
My first question to you is way to go. Getting tough on drugs is hard to do sometimes, especially when you`re talking about prosecutions that are
successful. Do you think this is a long shot, trying to get this alleged dealer on murder?
DANIELS: I don`t think it is. The federal grand jury, those folks indicted Unlucky, and you know, I applaud their decision to do that. I
also applaud the investigative efforts of the men and women of Clay County who made this come to fruition.
BANFIELD: How about the friends? I mean, this is -- I haven`t heard this before. Just being there, either for the alleged buy or definitely being
there because they called 911, being there as she died -- is that a long shot to get them on manslaughter?
DANIELS: Well, you know, if it were a long shot, I believe that the state attorney`s office would be moving in the direction to prosecute for those
charges. You know, I`ve said that friends don`t let friends drive drunk, but why would a friend or boyfriend take an 18-year-old female to a drug
house to purchase a product that is known to possibly kill someone?
BANFIELD: It`s mystifying...
DANIELS: (INAUDIBLE) held accountable.
BANFIELD: It`s mystifying to so many why anybody would get involved with substances like that. There is an intriguing background to this Trumaine
Muller, named Lucky on the street, named Unlucky by you. If you look at his arrest record, you need to scroll because it`s long. It goes back to
2003. There`s something almost every single year leading up to about eight of the charges in 2017.
So as it scrolls and our audience can just, you know, drink that in, I wonder if this background of his is going to make it easier to get him as a
dealer or as an alleged murderer or if it`s going to make it harder or if it`ll make any difference at all.
[20:25:12]DANIELS: Well, he`s certainly a habitual offender, and I really hope that the efforts of the prosecution stick and another family doesn`t
have to go with -- go through what Ariell`s family is now going through or has been going through for quite a few months.
BANFIELD: So why is it that the connection you think can be made between the friends who were there when she died and called 911, to being somehow
complicit in this death?
And as you think that question over, I want the audience to hear them on the 911 call. In fact, it`s the victim`s boyfriend, Tyler Hamilton, saying
this friend, Christopher Williams, and he were at the home as this young woman was dying.
Let`s listen to the 911 call, and I`ll get your answer to that in a moment.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: Clay County 911. What`s your emergency?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, my friend`s girlfriend, she`s not breathing.
ANDERSON: She`s not breathing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s...
ANDERSON: She`s not breathing at all?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. We can`t -- we can`t...
ANDERSON: How old is she?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How old is she? She`s 18.
ANDERSON: What was she doing before this?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She, like, fell asleep, like, breathing real hard. And then we brought her in and put her on the couch, and she was breathing for
a while and...
(CROSSTALK)
ANDERSON: What was she doing before that? Was she drugs or anything?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. We picked her up from work, from Cracker Barrel.
ANDERSON: She didn`t do heroin, anything like that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not that we know of.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: OK. Sheriff, not that we know of. No, we just picked her up from work. Is that the issue? Is that the critical moment where you
believe that was a lie?
DANIELS: Well, it`s pretty clear to me that they were lying, especially since they escorted her to the location where the products were purchased
and she ingested those products that resulted in her demise. So yes, I surmise that they are lying on the 911 tape.
BANFIELD: And what`s the more critical issue here for these friends? Is it the fact that you allege they were there for the buy, or is it the fact
that they were there during the death and told that 911 operator in two separate occasions, No, no, she wasn`t doing drugs. It wasn`t drugs.
DANIELS: Yes, I think that, you know, had the dispatcher -- and I`m only - - it`s only supposition -- had the dispatcher known or had they just told the truth, at least once the emergency responders got there at the scene,
they would have known what direction to go in, whether to administer narcan or some other medication.
But you know, I`ll speak to the first of the pieces that you brought up. If you as a friend of someone escort them to do something that you know or
should have known would cause them to die, I think you should be held accountable. And in this situation, across America, it has been widely
publicized that fentanyl will kill a person. It only takes .03 I think it`s called nanograms per milliliter. .03 -- that`s a very small amount,
and this young lady had well over the lethal amount in her system.
BANFIELD: So Joey Jackson is a phenomenal attorney. He`s sitting beside me and he`s shaking his head, and I think I know why. Our heart wants to
believe what you`re saying, but those laws, Joey, are super-duper strict, and it is not a crime to associate.
JACKSON: Yes. And I applaud the sheriff for being tough about this, but I think, at the end of the day, it goes nowhere, and here`s why. The reality
is, is we`re going to start penalizing people for calling 911. They call 911, attempt to get effort and aid, and now as a result, they`re being
prosecuted for manslaughter?
What happened to something called personal conduct? What happened to accountability for the individual? What happened to someone merely being
present as a friend, and now I have to get a defense attorney to be hired for manslaughter purposes.
Now, even with regard -- just jumping back to the drug dealer itself, that`s a stretch, also. Why? The drug dealer sells things. We all hate
drug dealers. They`re bad. They`re horrific people for communities. They destroy children. They destroy neighborhoods. But now they`re murderers
because somebody ingests their drugs and they overdose? Where`s the accountability there?
So if you want to get drug dealers, put them in jail forever. But to charge them with murder? That`s problematic.
BANFIELD: Why? What`s wrong? They`re selling them poison.
JACKSON: Because there`s a causation problem. So now maybe we should start prosecuting the cigarette people because cigarettes we smoke, people
die. So those who sell cigarettes to people, let`s prosecute them. And by the way, food -- it gets people sick. And they get various heart ailments
because they eat the food. Let`s prosecute those people!
BANFIELD: But if you can prove the causation...
JACKSON: That`s the problem.
BANFIELD: If you can prove the causation...
JACKSON: But how?
BANFIELD: Because she goes and...
JACKSON: How?
BANFIELD: ... buys that stash (ph) and ingests it and dies!
JACKSON: Right. But...
BANFIELD: Causation.
JACKSON: Because of an overdoes.
BANFIELD: Why is he not a murderer?
JACKSON: Because the reality is, is -- and look, I`m not defending drug dealers.
[20:30:04] They should not exist. They kill people! But individuals have choices. And if you`re going to ingest drugs to the point where you die,
now the person who sold that to you is going to be accountable?
So, let`s start prosecuting people who give people guns, and then when you get the gun, you shoot yourself, but you allowed me to have the gun to kill
myself. Individuals have to be accountable. So with all due respect to the sheriff who I know is trying to do the right thing and protect that
community, if these kids are convicted, that conviction is coming back on appeal. It`s not going to stand (ph).
BANFIELD: Sheriff, what do you think? Listen, this is a smart lawyer I work with here, and I love what you`re doing, and I know in his heart, Joey
loves it too, but he gets the law and it is an uphill fight, isn`t it?
DANIELS: I understand that he may know the law. Clearly he doesn`t do his law practice in the State of Florida because if he did, he would know about
the comprehensive drug bill that just passed and that speaks specifically to heroin and Fentanyl and any mixture or derivative thereof being
distributed to an individual who ingests it and dies.
It can then be -- then be -- let me speak, can then be charged with murder. That`s the law. That`s not Darryl Daniels. That`s not the law enforcement.
JACKSON: No, in fact.
DANIELS: What we do is enforce the law. The law is the law. We enforce it.
JACKSON: You cannot enforce laws.
DANIELS: Let me speak. The state attorney makes the decision to prosecute. The federal grand jury made a decision to indict.
JACKSON: Grand jurors indict ham sandwiches most respectfully. I used to take cases in front of the grand jury repeatedly and to prosecutor.
DANIELS: We`re talking about an 18-year-old girl regardless of any dependency issues. She`s still a human being. She`s not a dog.
JACKSON: Look, I don`t question that. Let`s unpack what you said, sheriff. You got on, allow me.
DANIELS: She`s not an animal. She`s a Clay County resident that I swore to protect and to serve, to protect and serve.
JACKSON: You got on, sheriff, please allow me.
DANIELS: Don`t talk to me as an attorney. We`re not in the courthouse.
JACKSON: Okay. Let`s get in the courthouse for one second. Most respectfully, wherever state you`re in, the law has to be constitutional
and there is an element, sheriff, no matter where you are in the 50 states of this union. It`s called causation and therefore, when a person dies, the
cause of their death no matter what the law is has to be attached to the person whose responsible. That`s item number one.
DANIELS: So, do we, in the State of Florida, ignore the law?
JACKSON: Sheriff, I allowed you to speak, would you please allow me too?
DANIELS: You tried to over talk me while I was talking. So all I`m just asking is this question and I`ll let you continue.
JACKSON: Go ahead.
DANIELS: Do we ignore an existing law? The law is clearly written.
JACKSON: No, what you do -- what you do, see, there was a law. What happens is, is that the law has to be constitutional and no matter what legislation
in any state of the union passes the law, it has to pass constitutional muster. And one of the main elements of the law is causation.
The law has to be attached. The person responsible has to be demonstrated to be responsible for your death. And when you start allowing three people
who are with a girl to be held responsible for her death because they were merely present, that`s to me is a problem.
BANFIELD: Here is what I`m hearing is that it is entirely possible this goes ahead in Florida, but that this could be an appellate issue, this
could be a Supreme Court issue, if we`re talking about something.
JACKSON: A 100 percent.
BANFIELD: . that is in direct conflict with constitution or federal law. Listen, I think it`s an amazing debate and I really appreciate both of you.
And I think we all have our hearts in the right place. We want these scum bags who are killing our kids off the street.
JACKSON: Without question.
BANFIELD: We want our kids to be safe.
DANIELS: I absolutely do.
BANFIELD: Sheriff, I hope you`ll come back on the show, will you?
DANIELS: I certainly will.
JACKSON: Sheriff, you did a great work, I`m not mad at you.
DANIELS: I`m not mad at you, either.
BANFIELD: I love you both, my God. Thank you so much. I really appreciate it.
DANIELS: Thank you.
BANFIELD: Coming, up, an attempted rape and it is not often you see this actually caught on camera. Tonight, Santa Ana police want your help find
this man, find this before he does this to someone else.
[20:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: We see a lot of crimes caught on video but we rarely see the kind of crime caught on tape that you`re about to see, an attempted rape. A
young woman staggering drunk down the street in Santa Ana, California. She tells police that she had been drinking and the reason she ducks into this
bar right here, she says she needed to use the bathroom.
Nearly two minutes later, this happens. The guy who followed her from another bar walks right in, excuse me, he looks down the stairs and he sees
her and then he grabs her. They struggle, grabs her face. She tries to get away. The man pulls her hair, knocks her down, then he starts to fondle her
right there. The struggle continues for about 30 seconds off camera.
Excuse me. You`ll see him dragging her off camera. This is where investigators actually say that he ripped some of the woman`s clothes off,
pulled her pants down, but something scared him off. The officers say the man is Hispanic, in his late 20s or early 30s, wearing a plaid shirt, blue
jeans, and black sneakers.
She joins me from Los Angeles. Melissa, do we have any idea what scared that man off so that he did not actually complete this crime?
MELISSA MCCARTY, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT, CRIME WATCH DAILY: You know, Ashleigh, this is every woman`s nightmare after a night out. Police believe
she`s a fighter.
[20:40:00] This 26-year-old kept fighting which is clearly evident throughout the entire video. I mean, he was dragging her down the
staircase. He was trying to take off her clothes. His pants were down. Every second of that clip, she is trying to fight him off. And police
believes he just eventually ran off.
BANFIELD: But here is what is weird. The police have said that they think he may have done this in the past but it`s not because they have sort of a
spate of reports of this happening in the community. Why is it that they think he might have done this before?
MCCARTY: Well, I can tell you as a veteran crime reporter, there is huge indicator that this guy is a predator. He`s done it before and he`ll
certainly do it again. He was stalking her. It was a crime of opportunity for her. Police have a several block radius of surveillance video where
they are clocking his every move.
He saw a prey, he moved in, he was following her, he was waiting for the opportunity, and that was when she went to use the restroom. She was in
this enclosed environment in a staircase and he made his move. It was very brazen. And it was also around a time, about 3:00 in the morning, he knew
nobody would hear her screaming for help, and he knew he could just run off.
I don`t think he anticipated being captured on so many different security videos. It`s so brazen. You have to know someone like this has done it
before and they are going to do it again. That`s why it`s so important to release this video and capture this guy.
BANFIELD: Yeah, take a really close look at him. The clothing he`s wearing, the way he walks. Some of the camera angles are slightly close up but it`s
really tricky to make out his face although if you know him, you`ll know who he is.
Melissa, real quickly, the woman in this video was stumbling down the street and thus I think it`s fair to say she was intoxicated. But has she
been helpful in terms of identifying or doing a composite sketch so we can get a better feel for who this guy is? Were her details clear to the
police?
MCCARTY: They are clear enough for them to have something to go on. The description is still very vague. I mean, they have, you know, Hispanic
male. They have late 20s, early 30s. They have a description of what he was wearing which is blue jeans, plaid shirt, black sneakers. I mean, she was
drinking that night. She admitted to that.
And during that time where you`re frazzled, your adrenaline is pumping, you`re being attacked, you know, she gave the best description possible.
But it certainly not enough. It`s vague. And even what we`re seeing on this video, is still grainy, it`s hard to really get an idea of who this man is.
But somebody, a neighbor, a friend of a friend, they`re going to know him by the way he walks, by that outfit he wore. They`re going to know
something about the mannerism or even the tennis shoes that he`s wearing to identify him. I think it`s enough especially if you play this video enough.
BANFIELD: Joey Jackson, just weigh in on this for me. I mean, you`re seeing the evidence that at least the public is seeing. I don`t know that the
police have anything more. What are the chances they are going to be able to catch him?
JACKSON: I think the chances are great. I mean, you know, the big take away with this is that you have surveillance everywhere and I think technology
is a blessing and a curse. In this sense, it`s a blessing. You see him there.
You see the description of his clothing, the body type that he has, the height that he has, the weight that he has, and so it`s a good bet that
people are going to recognize this. And because of great shows like yours, they are tuning in, and he`s going to be brought to justice.
BANFIELD: Let`s hope. Let`s hope that someone out there knows. This is Santa Ana, California, folks. Take a good look. If you see him, if you know
anything, call police. Melissa McCarty, thank you. Thank you, as well.
We have all done this. We`ve all been there. You grab a quick bite while filling up at the gas station. But in northern California, a man is dead
and nine others are fighting for their lives after eating contaminated nacho cheese at a road side stop.
[20:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: We`ve all been there, running around maybe on a break from work, you stop at the convenience store to get something to eat, maybe some
chips, nacho cheese, but for one man that pit stop might have been a deadly choice. Martin Galindo stopped for some nachos at a gas station just
outside of Sacramento, California.
Of course, he scooped on the nacho cheese sauce. But the father of two became so sick that doctors had to put him on life support. And his fight
for life ended in the past week after his family decided that they had to remove that life support. Health investigators tested the nacho cheese at
the gas station and they found that it contained the rare toxin botulism, actually, the rare bacteria, botulism.
They pulled it off the shelves. But Martin Galindo isn`t the only victim. There are nine other people who got sick from the potentially deadly
bacteria. One of them, Lavinia Kelly. She also ate the cheese at that gas station. Kelly has been in intensive care for more than three weeks. She
has lost most of her body functions and the ability to communicate.
(START VIDEO CLIP)
THERESA KELLY, VICTIM`S SISTER: My phone rings and I picked up the phone and it`s her. She can`t articulate a word. And she`s saying -- basically
she`s saying sister, I need you here now. I need you here now. I never seen my sister not have function of her body or be able to communicate and I
never seen my sister on tubes or anything like that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Dr. Imran Ali is a resident physician at Yale New Haven Health, and he joins me live from New Haven, Connecticut. Doctor, thanks so much
for being with me. I have so many questions because we all do this. We all eat at a gas station where who knows how long the cheese has been there. Is
this really the gas station`s fault to the length of time the cheese may been out?
IMRAN ALI, RESIDENT PHYSICIAN AT YALE NEW HAVEN HEALTH: It`s not really the gas station`s fault. It`s the fault of the food manufacturer. You know,
botulism clostridium, the bacteria, is almost everywhere.
[20:50:00] But it thrives in -- it`s called anaerobic bacteria, it thrives in cans and in canisters where there isn`t any oxygen. So if the area where
the food has been packaged is not sterile, and just one or two of those bacterium go into the can or the canister, I don`t know what kind of cheese
canister this was or was it a squeeze cheese, I`m not quite sure, but that can be a thriving ground for bacterial growth.
And it`s not the bacteria, it`s the toxin. The toxin affects -- it basically tells our muscles to move, to contract. It`s the nerves` way of
talking to the muscles. Once that`s disrupted, the muscles, especially the muscles of the diaphragm, which help us breathe, they completely are
useless.
BANFIELD: This is interesting. Stop there for a second because when you say it`s not the bacteria, the botulinum bacteria, it`s the toxins within it
that once you actually ingest that botulinum bacteria, they released in your body. So what you`re saying is that the botulinum is everywhere.
It`s in the soil, it`s in actually strangely enough (ph) organic and more raw food. How are you to know? How are you to know that your organic egg or
your organic broccoli doesn`t have that bacteria that once you eat at the toxins will be released within you?
ALI: In 1950s, it was a big problem. But the DFA and food scientists have now realized how this is, you know, found and how cans can be contaminated.
And now there are very strict guidelines from food manufacturers to make sure that their area at the packaging process is very sterile.
So this is something that it`s not really the gas station`s fault per se, but, you know, people can recognize if a can is dented or bloated that
something is not right, that something is growing inside.
BANFIELD: Okay, that`s critical. Thank you for saying that. If your can of food is bloated, the can is misshaped and banged around. I know cans get
banged around a lot, but that is a number one sign. What about cooking?
Because with E. coli and it`s barbecue season right now and memorial day coming up this weekend, as well, we can usually cook that to be safe. Can
you do the same thing with botulinum? Can you cook that bacteria safe?
ALI: No, you`ll get rid of the spores, but you can get rid of the toxins. If you cook above 140 degrees, and that`s the whole thing. You really want
to cook it very, very well. And that will prevent the bacteria, the toxins from actually causing any harm.
Now the toxins don`t cause any harm in your stomach. I mean, the toxins in an acidic environment, they are not affected by the stomach acid. You see,
stomach acid fights all the bacteria but these toxins can survive from stomach acid.
BANFIELD: They are like super strong.
ALI: Right.
BANFIELD: I just want to read -- real quickly, I just want to read out what the symptoms are because I think a lot of people would be worried. How do I
know if it`s botulism toxin? How do I know if it`s E. coli. So here are the symptoms for botulism toxin.
Blurred vision, drooping eyelids, slurred speech, difficulty swallowing, and muscle weakness. So you don`t necessarily, doctor, feel sick to your
stomach? You`re not sort of throwing up or have diarrhea like E. coli?
ALI: You won`t have diarrhea, but you will definitely feel sick to your stomach. You may vomit. You may just think it`s the run of the mill
gastroenteritis. The key thing is if you have blurry vision or droopy eyelids, that`s the telltale sign. Remember, this starts from the top and
then goes down the bottom.
So you can catch it when you have blurry vision. You can prevent it from reaching down to the important muscles. There is an anti toxin that can be
given to you within 48 hours.
BANFIELD: Oh, my God. That`s good to know. The fact that there is an anti toxin. I think the legal issue is going to be bigger than just going after
the gas station as you said. It could be something far more significant like the plant where the cheese came from.
ALI: Right.
BANFIELD: Dr. Ali, thank you. It`s so nice to have you. I want to really quickly bring in Joey Jackson. I think a lot of people would be surprised
to hear that, it`s not necessarily because the cheese had been out.
JACKSON: It`s very true. You know, one thing that`s interesting, food poisoning is something called strict liability. You know like when you slip
or you fall or something else, negligence, when it comes to people who are selling food in the event that you can establish that you got sick as a
result of that, irrespective of negligence, guess what? There is liability there.
BANFIELD: Right.
JACKSON: And so not necessarily in this case, but food in general, because all of us eat, right? You want us to be safe.
BANFIELD: It`s Memorial Day coming up. We are all going to be out eating anything.
JACKSON: We`re all going to eat. And barbecuing.
BANFIELD: 140 degrees no matter whether it`s E. coli or botulism, and you`re good to go. I will be right back. Thank you for that.
It`s great to sit down with your laptop or your tablet or your phone and sip a coffee at a local cafe and surf the internet. But surfer, be aware.
Because when you`re using a public Wi-Fi hotspot,
[20:55:00] yes they are convenient, but no, they are not guaranteed to be secure. If it doesn`t require a password, there is a good bet that it is
not secure and it puts your information and your photos and your videos and even your identity at risk.
Make sure that you`re using sites that begin with HTTPS in the URL. Seriously. Because the "S" at end stands for secure. Meaning, it`s
encrypted. Sites without that "S" put you at risk. You could also sign up for a VPN, that`s a virtual private network, it sends your internet
connection through dedicated encrypted servers.
And be sure to run anti-virus software while using that Wi-Fi hotspot. Also keep in mind that you can use your cellphone to create a secure personal
hotspot for your laptop or computer.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Cyber security tip brought to you by Dell. More than a PC. Your small business partner.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[21:00:00] BANFIELD: My thanks to the great Joey Jackson, as always.
JACKSON: A privilege, thank you, Ash.
BANFIELD: Our privilege and our pleasure. Thanks for watching, everybody. We`ll be back 8:00 tomorrow night for PRIMETIME JUSTICE. In the meantime,
"FORENSIC FILES" starts right now.
END
